Apple vs. Google: Game On

Is Apple’s lawsuit against HTC a proxy through which to strike at Google and its increasingly popular Android OS? It certainly looks that way.

While not directly named in the lawsuit, Google (GOOG) figures prominently in it simply because of the sheer number of times “Android products” are called out in the complaint. According to Apple (AAPL), “Accused HTC Android Products” infringe no fewer than nine of its patents–some dating from back to the company’s NeXT days. They are:

These patents all cover operating system-level behavior. Could these behaviors be specific to the version of Android running on HTC’s devices? I suppose that’s possible. But it seems unlikely. As Engadget’s Nilay Patel writes in an excellent breakdown of the patents at issue, “Some of these patents are from 15 years ago and cover OS-level behavior–it’s hard to see how they can relate only to HTC’s implementation of Android and not Google’s OS as a whole.”

And, of course, Google isn’t building the allegedly infringing devices. But more important, Apple and Google still work closely together on two apps that are core to the iPhone and soon, the iPad as well: Search and maps. Going after Google outright might put those projects at risk at a time (pre-iPad launch) when they need to be preserved. And Apple can always add the company to the suit at a later date.

Safer then for Apple to spank a company like HTC to make its point–unless, of course, Google feels compelled to come to HTC’s defense.

Reached for comment, Google had only this to say: “We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.”

AllThingsD by Writer

AllThingsD.com is a Web site devoted to news, analysis and opinion on technology, the Internet and media. But it is different from other sites in this space. It is a fusion of different media styles, different topics, different formats and different sources. Read more »